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Heart and Soul: Religion and Refugees in Hispaniola

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Parc Cadeau - Haiti

29/07/2016 GMT

Religion and Refugees in Hispaniola

BBC World Service - Heart and Soul, Religion and Refugees in Hispaniola

Tens of thousand of Haitians flee to the border to escape violence and deportation

Tens of thousand of Haitians flee to the border to escape violence and deportation following the Dominican government's demand that Haitian's prove their legal status.

Will Grant reports from both sides of the border in Hispaniola to look at the role of the church in the world's forgotten migrant crisis. 

Neighbours Haiti and the Dominican Republic have a long and turbulent history. Today a new conflict has arisen with the announcement by the Dominican government demanding all people of Haitian descent prove their legal status. Tens of thousands of Haitians have fled to the border to escape threats of violence and deportation. 

Along the mountain border near Parc Cadeau, Will meets the Jesuit organisations operating on both sides of the border, leading the efforts to provide shelter, food and spiritual support. Despite national and international pressure, and even a visit from the Pope, the influential Dominican Cardinal Nicolás de Jesús López Rodríguez continues to back the court ruling and antagonise attempts for intercultural dialogue. In the Dominican capital, Santo Domingo, Will meets the Jesuit priests who are protesting against their government and their own Church, asking them to help their Catholic neighbours.

Photo: Parc Cadeau, Haiti . Credit: Will Grant

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